And don’t forget folks, this
time, it counts.
Catchers
Carlos Ruiz, Jonathan Lucroy, Yadier Molina
If you had to guess who was
playing the catcher position the best in 2012 thus far, your first guess
probably wouldn’t be Carlos Ruiz. Well believe it or not, Chooch has been
playing phenomenally through the first clip of the season. His play’s dipped
ever so slightly since the first time I checked out his numbers last Saturday
but he is still hitting above .340 (leading all catchers) with a .973 OPS
(leads all catchers), and 7 home runs, which, yes, leads all National League
catchers. Lucroy’s numbers have undoubtedly been assisted from his two-homer
day the other afternoon but as of right now I will give him the benefit of the
doubt because he has been playing well and hitting .344 doesn’t just happen
over a couple of days. Yadier Molina has been a surprisingly great offensive
player for the Cardinals and as usual, his defense gets him in.
Just Missed: Brian McCann, whose average hinders me a little but as usual his
power numbers are as good as they always have appeared to be. Generally McCann
figures to be a shoe-in and I would not be surprised to see him get in opposed
to Lucroy if things level off a bit over the next couple of weeks heading into
the month of July, but for now, his numbers just don’t make the cut. Two other
guys to look for in the next couple of weeks that are making strong cases: Buster Posey, and, surprisingly enough,
Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis and his
.939 OPS.
First Basemen
Joey Votto, Bryan
LaHair, Adam LaRoche
The 2010 NL MVP is playing
like the 2010 NL MVP once again, proving to be consistently be one of the best
hitters since the year 2009. His numbers have shot up through the roof the last
couple of weeks and in my opinion is a no-brainer choice for he starting job in
tthe All-Star Game right now. However, he in my opinion is dueling it out with
a first baseman in his division too, and at first glance before the season, you
wouldn’t think that given the fact that Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols both
fled for the American League. Bryan LaHair, AAA journeyman and considered a
AAAA player has been on an absolute tear since the beginning of the season and
hasn’t let up. His .313 average, .617 SLG, 1.028 OPS, .305 ISO, and 10 home
runs all lead NL first baseman and the argument could be made to give him the
starting nod as of right now. I’m just taking personal preference right now,
but there’s no reason why that can’t change at all. Meanwhile out east, with
Ryan Howard hurt, Ike Davis playing terribly, Gaby Sanchez being demoted and
Freddie Freeman’s numbers down a bit, Adam LaRoche has stepped up as the best
first baseman in the East through the first quarter of the season and the rest
of the league. No one has driven in more runs than LaRoche among first basemen
(even though I think that stat is poor) and he is second in ISO and 3rd in OPS.
Just Missed: Freddie Freeman, who matches LaRoche’s home run and RBI numbers, and
has scored more runs than LaRoche by a wide margin, but his average, OBP, SLG,
OPS, ISO, WAR and wRC+ are all significantly lower so the metrics favor LaRoche
more than they favor Freeman’s naked eye stats. Look out for Yonder Alonso of the San Diego Padres
to make a run for it as well, given San Diego’s inefficiencies and Carlos Lee is also having a nice season
too.
Second Basemen
Omar Infante, Daniel Murphy, Jose Altuve
The crop of second basemen
in the National League is…well, it’s very underwhelming to say the least
compared to that of American League second basemen. Omar Infante stands above
the rest though, and does so in just about every category. Average, SLG, OPS,
ISO, wRC+, and home runs. It isn’t all just about homers though and Daniel
Murphy’s showing why. He beats out Infante in doubles and OBP by the slightest
margin and has been incredibly consistent throughout on a Mets team that is
surprising a lot of people. He’ll battle with Infante for the starting job, in
my opinion, the whole way through. The last pick is Jose Altuve, who could very well get in based on
the “one person per team rule” and it would not be a joke either. Second in OPS
with .827, second in SLG with .463, a 137 wRC which, as you would expect, is
second best and he leads the NL among his second baseman peers with 51 hits and
sports a .315 BA.
Just Missed: Dan Uggla is soaring above the rest in runs scored and RBI,
which he leads in both with and his power output is definitely better than last
year, already standing with six and hitting .267, an average he never hit last
year. His .152 ISO ain’t too bad either. If it weren’t for the one person per
team rule, I’d put Uggla in but I’ll give the Astros Altuve for right now.
Shortstops
Rafael Furcal, Ian Desmond, Starlin Castro
A bit of a surprise for the
starter as I’m sure nobody really thought that Rafael Furcal would do as well
as he has through the first clip of the season. And he has done just that,
leading amongst his peers in hits (57), runs scored (30), average (.343), OBP
(.403), WAR (2.0) and wRC+ (147). Slightly below average in fielding with a
-0.5 UZR but his offensive numbers put him above the rest. Ian Desmond has been
a pleasant surprise for the Washington Nationals as the team squabbling with
the Atlanta Braves for first place in the division finds their second
representative on the team. His eight home runs leads amongst shortstops in the
NL and is slugging .487, second in the NL amongst shortstops and is just .001
away from leading in .ISO. Starlin Castro gets the third spot here because of
his average (.309), hits (54) and pure personal preference. I expect him to
continue to state his case.
Just Missed: A few, but Jed Lowrie and Troy Tulowitzki stick out to me the
most personally. Lowrie has been surprisingly outstanding for the Astros and if
Jose Altuve does not get elected to the team I expect Lowrie to be selected.
Leading in OPS, SLG, ISO and second only to Furcal in wRC+ gets marks for the
metrics lovers, and he’s not doing too bad to the naked eye either. A .289
average, seven home runs and seven doubles will get you noticed. Tulowitzki has
had a bit of a down season to say the least, ye he still ranks fourth in OPS
and is on pace for 20+ home runs once again. Won’t be surprised if he sneaks in
based on Colorado’s ineptness this year.
Third Basemen
Third Basemen
David Wright, David Freese, Chase Headley
David Wright is an absolute
slam-dunk All-Star this year and is a surefire candidate for MVP, and the
starting position for the third base position. Wright leads third basemen in
the NL in almost every single category: AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, wRC, WAR, wRC+,
runs scored, and hits. And for the most part, it’s not even remotely close. David
Freese is just about the only person that is staying pat with him and he’s
tapered off from his hot start a bit. He has fallen back to earth a bit from
his tremendous postseason but his eight homers and .469 SLG put him above the
others in contention if you ask me. Not to mention his .210 ISO beats Wright’s
.201. (Leader is Pedro Alvarez with .219) As for the third selection here, I
went with Headley on account of his superior fielding to that of the others who
I will discuss in just a moment. The metrics favor him as well even if he is
hitting only .245.
Just Missed: Hanley Ramirez and Chris
Johnson just, and I mean just miss the cut. You wouldn’t think that the
entire Astros infield would be doing as good as they are but believe it or not
they appear to be an underrated bunch that if the cards play out right they may
get some recognition with at least one of them being selected in my mind.
Outfielders
Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Carlos Beltran, Andre Ethier, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Gonzalez, Martin
Prado, Michael Bourn
Frankly thus far through the
ballot I don’t think I have had to make any easier choices than the ones in
this section of the ballot. The reigning MVP is putting up exceptional numbers
once again for the struggling Milwaukee Brewers, proving last year was no fluke
(whether or not it was legit is up for grabs. I personally don’t care). His OPS
right now is a career high at 1.036, but even that astronomically high OPS
isn’t as good as Matt Kemp was through 34 games this year. Kemp is slugging an
absolutely ridiculous .726 which leads the league, smacked 12 homers and his
ISO is an absurd .368. Think that was a fluke either? Don’t think so.
Meanwhile, Carlos Beltran is proving what he can do when healthy is be as good
of an outfielder as they come. Beltran’s 13 home runs up to this point lead all
NL outfielders and he too has an OPS above 1.000 and is hitting just south of
.300. Kemp’s buddy Andre Ethier is having a great season as well, hitting .314
and his SLG is .572 which is terrific and he’s notched up 50 hits in 43 games.
Andrew McCutchen thus far is the lone soul for the Pirates and he won’t get in
“just because” either. McCutchen is fifth in OPS (.945) and third in batting
average (.340) and he has swiped eight bases thus far this season. Carlos
Gonzalez has resurfaced after a down 2011 from his great 2010 and is doing all
the right things for a piss poor Colorado team. He ranks eighth in batting
average amongst NL OF (.301) and has hit eight home runs which is fifth in the
NL amongst OF his OPS is just under 1.000 (.912). Prado boasts a .315 batting
average and has played a great left field for the Braves when asked to this
season, with just two errors made all season in the outfield, and none at the
third base position. The metrics favor his fielding quite well and could get
him in too because his UZR in left field is a staggering 6.8 and at 3B it is
just below average. Meanwhile Bourn is playing great in center field as well
for the Bravos, with no errors made and his UZR at 5.2. His 13 steals leads
among his peers.
Just Missed: Melky Cabrera comes to mind when I think of players who are just
missing the cut right now to be in the NL outfield, and that pick might
surprise you, but believe it because it’s no fluke either. Melky Cabrera would
win the NL batting title right now if the season ended (with a .360 batting
average) and that is no typo. He’s not just hitting the baseball either as he’s
picked up 15 XBH (10 2B, 5 3B) and has scored 27 runs. The metrics favor him as
well as his WAR is just under 2.0 (1.80) and his wRC+ is just under 160 (155).
Starting Pitchers
Brandon Beachy, Clayton Kershaw, Gio Gonzalez, Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, Stephen
Strasburg
As is the case almost every
single year no matter the league, there is a surplus of great pitchers through
the first 40 games. In my mind, these six are who I would put on the NL team,
with a lot just like the AL who could be very deserving of being on the team. Brandon
Beachy for me gets the starting nod and is a strong contender for the Cy Young
if not the favorite through the first quarter of the season, as he leads in ERA
and while he doesn’t strike a lot of guys out his deceptiveness on the mound
has fooled batters all season, only allowing a .182 BAA on a .209 BABIP and his
WHIP is south of 1.00, at 0.90. The reigning Cy Young is not making people
forget about him either as he once again is on pace for over 200 strikeouts.
His 1.90 ERA is nasty good, and FIP at 2.95 isn’t too bad either. Gio Gonzalez
has been everything the Nationals could have asked for when they traded for him
in the offseason (the trade of the offseason in my opinion). His ERA is just
under 2.00, he’s 6-1 and has 69 K in 54.2 IP for an 11.36 K/9. What might be
even more impressive you may ask? He has allowed one -- just one -- home run
all season. Not only that but his BAA is a mere .163. Zack Greinke is playing like he wants a new contract this season,
following his superb first season as a Brewer last year. He sports a 2.70 ERA
with 59 K in 56.2 IP for a 9.37 K/9 and he too has only allowed one home run
all year. Dating back to last year, incredibly enough, Greinke has not lost a
single start in the city of Milwaukee. (I know wins and losses aren’t the “thing”
but that’s still impressive to me). Matt Cain to me has impressed me a bit out
in the Bay, specifically catered towards the Metrics. Cain has a 0.84 HR/9, an
impressive 8.67 K/9, allowing hitters to only hit a miniscule .203 against him
and sports a 2.81 FIP. A bit controversial, but his numbers are great. 62
strikeouts doesn’t look too bad either. Lastly, how can you ignore Stephen
Strasburg? The Phenom has turned into one hell of a pitcher, possibly
plateauing in the process, but does it mater? Not to me. His 10.87 K/9, 64
strikeouts and 1.02 WHIP jumped outa me personally.
Just Missed: Where do we begin? Ted Lilly,
Chris Capuano, Johnny Cueto, Carlos Zambrano, Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald,
Cole Hamels are all pitchers who could find their way onto the team at some
point or another. Just like the AL: there’s too much good pitching in the
league right now for everyone to get their due.
Relief Pitchers
Aroldis Chapman, Craig Breslow, Sergio Romo
I will admit, some of this
is a lot of short-sightedness just like for the AL but these three to me belong
for all separate reasons. If Aroldis Chapman is not selected to the team I will
be stunned. His stuff is electric and might be one of the most exciting players
in the entire league. Just watch a Cincinnati game when he comes on the mound.
Great American Ballpark is buzzing any time he steps onto the mound and proved
the other day that he can pitch faster than he can drive. Plus his stuff is
nasty, and he ahs not allowed a single run any time that he has been on the
mound. Batters are hitting a miniscule .088 against him, his WHIP is 0.60,
BABIP is .179, and his K/9? 15.81. Yeah, he’s pretty good no matter how you
look at it. Craig Breslow has been the bright spot of the Arizona Diamondbacks
bullpen, and, frankly, the only Diamondback who I think belongs on the team
right now. In 22.1 IP he has a 2.01 ERA and hitters are only hitting .185
against him. Meanwhile, Sergio Romo is sporting an unbelievably good 12.21 K/9
ratio and hitters are only hitting .157 against him and his WHIP is 0.86. Not
to mention his very low 0.64 ERA and 19 K in 14 innings.
Just Missed: I’ll say Brett Myers and Santiago Casilla who both have 11 saves
on the season and thus far have been very good but once again just like the AL,
I’m not totally sure on who I would put in this area. Short-sightedness for the
loss.
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